Parents of Tongaat learners in the north of Durban are calling on government to reconsider e-learning or temporarily closing schools, “at least until the Covid-19 third wave passes”.
This, as the number of Covid positive learners and educators continues to rise in the province with two child fatalities already confirmed in Phoenix and in Ladysmith. On Tuesday morning, parents and concerned community members, came out in their numbers to make their voices heard in protest of schools remaining open, despite the peak of new Covid infection in KwaZulu-Natal. Feroz Saib, the community coordinator and spokesperson for the group, said they decided to take a stand, not just for Tongaat learners but for all schools. “The community has raised concerns about the fears for the dear children of Tongaat. Not only our kids but the lives of our amazing teachers as well. The revision of social distancing measures from 1.5meters to 0.5meters in schools is also one of our concerns as well as the increase in active Covid cases.”
He said the community made a collective decision to protest the opening of schools. “Enough is enough. We have been peacefully demonstrating and in constant communication with each other, to ensure we make the best decisions moving forward. We believe children should be home schooled and allowed to video conference lessons, assessments and show and tells. Little lives matter the most. We as a community are also willing to assist to ensure that these tasks are met.”
Saib said the support from the community has overwhelming. “We are overjoyed by the response from the community. We believe in order to save our children and educators, schools should close temporarily allowing only grades 7, 11 and 12 to attend as more space will be available for them to conduct exams safely.”
His sentiments were share by Collin Maistry, a community member and the creator of the “Save our children” WhatsApp groups. He said, “We aim to educate parents of learners about the dangers of the virus and how close contact leaves the child vulnerable to being infected. We rather lose a month of school than a child’s life. For any parent, that has invested so much into the upbringing of a child, it will be the most devastating thing to lose their child.” In his recent Covid-19 status update address, on Sunday, KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala confirmed that the province is officially now experiencing the third wave of infections. The province has for the past three consecutive days, recorded more than 3000 new cases, and is reporting the second-highest number of daily confirmed cases. “Our third wave appears to be due to the sustained increase in the rate of new infections. We have also noted an increase in cluster cases, with schools emerging as the biggest contributor in this regard. In fact, more than 120 schools have reported clusters in their school settings; and more than 800 learners and educators have been affected. Learners make up at least 95% of this number, while educators account for the remaining 5%.”
Democratic Alliance spokesperson on education, Dr Imran Keeka said the recent dramatic spike in Covid-19 cases within KZN schools is causing justifiable anguish for all involved within the educational sector. “Many parents have raised their questions regarding school protocols once cases are identified and around sanitisation of schools once a Covid-19 positive person has been identified. For both, there are sound procedures in place. To date, there have been 6 389 Covid-19 cases identified within KZN’s schools, a figure updated late last week and which is an accumulative figure since the beginning of the pandemic. This while the past two years have also seen a significant loss of learning time. Schools must be safe places of learning and teaching, not places of harm and the spread of disease.” Saib is requesting for oximeters, oxygen concentrators and fogging systems donations. For more information or to donate contact 074-756-2958.
